The Japanese Lantern

by Isobel Chace

  Upstairs, she was astonished to see one whole wall was made of glass, revealing a court below, where two teams of players were playing the most strenuous game that she had ever seen.

  “What’s this?” she asked Jason, sinking into a chair.

  “Jai-alai. The best game in the world.”

  For a moment she watched in silence. The ball, the pelote, seemed to have a life all of its own, and the players, with their gloves shaped like wicker mudguards, leapt higher and higher in their efforts to catch the ball and fling it back again at the granite wall.

  Then other things began to catch her attention. Bookies were lined up against the wall and Filipinos squashed each other, pushed and shoved in their anxiety to place their bets.

  “Do look!” Jonquil cried out. “The odds are higher on red. Let’s go down and put something on them.”

  They turned out their pockets, found that they had more than sufficient pesos between them and gave them to the smiling barman who agreed to see that their bet was sent down before the game ended.

  “Reds not very lucky tonight,” he warned them. “I support Blue.”

  “You’ll lose,” Jonquil assured him equally solemnly.

  He waved his hands in the air in shocked surprise.

  “But I am Filipino!”

  “And I’m Australian!”

  “Ah!” His smile broadened. “So, we shall see! And still laughing he turned away to serve some other customers.

  Jason took her to a table where she could see the game more clearly and they watched fascinated as the game went on.

  So engrossed did they become that they failed to notice the arrival of another European in the bar until he had come right up to them. He was a pleasant-looking young man, with hair as fair as Jason’s was dark and a younger look around the mouth and chin.

  “It is Mr. Jason Tate?” he asked in deprecatory tones.

  Jason looked up and nodded, half rising to his feet.

  “My name is Edward Keeving,” the young man went on. “I was told to look out for you by my father. He’s sending me to Japan later in the month to broaden our contacts with your firm.” The two men shook hands and Jason introduced him to Jonquil.

  “I didn’t know Keeving Chemicals had become interested in Manila,” Jason said thoughtfully. “You must be expanding pretty rapidly.”

  “We are,” Edward replied gently. “But this is no time to discuss business. I’m afraid that I’ve interrupted the game you were watching.”

  “It’s not important.” Jason dismissed it as though he had no interest whatever in which of the two sides was winning. “We are going down to dinner in a moment. Perhaps you would care to join us?”

  “I should be delighted,” Mr. Keeving smiled. “I had forgotten your reputation as a work-eater,” he said smoothly. “Does Miss Kennedy also work in your department?”

  Jonquil’s lips twitched into a mischievous smile.

  “Why, no,” she said. “We were only recently introduced—by—by a Japanese lady, Mitchi Boko.” She cast a quick, almost scared look of apology at Jason, wondering why she should have said such a thing.

  Mr. Keeving’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “Indeed,” he said. “I too have the pleasure of knowing Miss Mitchi. She’s very lovely, don’t you think? And extremely clever.”

  “She’s certainly very beautiful,” Jonquil agreed readily. “I don’t know how she manages to look so fragile.”

  Mr. Keeving laughed at that, his face looking even more boyish now that he was feeling more at home.

  “That’s a Japanese secret,” he told her. “Their women must be the most feminine in the world!” He sat back in his chair and grinned. “But you must tell me how you persuaded Tate to leave his test-tubes. They were more than half expecting him at the laboratory I visited this morning.” Jonquil gave Jason a quick look of enquiry and was surprised to see him looking a little sheepish.

  “Even a scientist wants an occasional day off,” he said defensively. “Besides, you would have got lost if I’d let you explore Manila on your own.”

  They smiled at each other—a secret smile, reminding each other how much they had enjoyed their day.

  “It was fun,” Jonquil said reminiscently. “I almost wish we didn’t have to fly on to Japan tomorrow.”

  Edward Keeving laughed again.

  “But that wouldn’t agree with your plans, would it, Tate?” he asked slyly.

  “No,” Jason agreed readily. “I have to be in Japan tomorrow night.”

  It seemed odd to Jonquil that Mr. Keeving should know so much about Jason’s plans. He was obviously not a friend, indeed she doubted if he were even an acquaintance, for he had had to make sure that Jason was really the man he had thought he was. Of course if they both worked in the same circle he was bound to know roughly what Jason’s position would be, but not the details of where he would be in his off-duty times. Now, for instance, how had he known that he would find him here, at the Jai-alai building?

  The questions in her mind showed in her eyes as she opened her mouth to ask him, but Jason shook his head, very quietly, at her and she relapsed into silence, more curious than ever.

  “You mustn’t let me distract you from the game, Miss Kennedy. Which side are you backing?” Edward Keeving leant forward in his chair to get a closer look at the players. “I understand that local opinion favours the Blues.”

  “That barman does,” Jonquil admitted. “But we’ve decided on the Reds.”

  He nodded wisely. “You may be right,” he said. “The man who’s just come on looks good for anything.” Jonquil looked down where he was pointing and saw that the Reds had indeed pulled something out of the bag. The young man was taller than the others and could jump much higher, giving him a tremendous advantage.

  “These young men are very highly valued in the Philippines,” Mr. Keeving told her. “They are not allowed to perform if they are at all unwell. It’s rather like greyhound racing at home; vets swarming all over the place before the match begins.”

  “You haven’t wasted much time in learning all the local customs,” Jason put in admiringly. “I lived once in Manila for a few months, but I never knew that.”

  Mr. Keeving coloured modestly, retiring hastily back into the recesses of his chair.

  “I know very little really, he said hurriedly. “Someone happened to tell me at the hotel where I’m staying.”

  That led Jonquil to ask him whether he had seen the Jungle Bar, and, when he admitted that he hadn’t, she recommended it to him, and then it was time to go down to dinner.

  “But what about our winnings?” Jonquil asked Jason as they were passing the bar.

  Jason looked enquiringly at the barman.

  “They will be brought to your table,” he assured them. “But the Blues, they will win!”

  The dinner was excellent. Oysters were eaten by the two men, but Jonquil settled for shellfish cooked with rice and butter to such perfection that they melted in her mouth. It was difficult therefore to see why she should resent Mr. Keeving’s presence quite so much as she did. He was charming and she made all the motions of responding to that charm, while inwardly her whole body tingled with warnings that she could only put down to intuition. She didn’t like him. But she couldn’t say why.

  At last it was over and she was able to plead that she was too tired to do anything but go back to her hotel.

  “I shall hope to see something of you in Tokyo, Miss Kennedy,” Mr. Keeving said pleasantly. “You must let me take you to Boko’s restaurant. Perhaps she will introduce us both to Japanese cooking.”

  “I should like that very much,” she said as warmly as she could.

  “Then may I be permitted to know your address in Tokyo?”

  Jonquil frowned. Did Englishmen still use such a formal mode of address, or was it just that Edward Keeving had been brought up in a particularly old-fashioned household?

  “I shall be staying with a Mr. and Mrs. Buckmaster,” she told him.
“I’m looking after their little boy while they are away in America,” She searched in her handbag. “I have the address somewhere here,” she said. “No, I haven’t. I gave it to you, with my passport!” She turned impulsively to Jason and then looked a little dismayed. “He’s looking after it for me as we’re travelling together,” she explained, wondering how she had ever allowed herself into such a situation that she had to explain her actions to someone like Mr. Keeving.

  “Very wise! I only wish I had someone to look after my papers. However, there’s no need for Tate to turn out his pockets. I know Mr. Buckmaster’s house quite well. I have a friend who lives next door.”

  He smiled pleasantly and accompanied them out into the street.

  “I shall stay on here for a while,” he said. “There is another game beginning and I should like to see it.”

  Jonquil turned quickly to Jason.

  “Is the previous game over, then?” she asked.

  “Some time ago, I should imagine. I think Blue must have won after all, or we should have heard from our friend the barman.”

  “I suppose so,” she agreed dejectedly. It was disappointing out of all proportion to its importance. It had been the last thing that she and Jason had been able to do together in Manila before Edward Keeving had joined them, and tomorrow they would be flying on to Japan and she might never see him again.

  “Don’t be too upset,” he said gently. “Think how happy he will be that the Filipino luck was stronger than the Australian!”

  Jonquil laughed, picturing the barman’s gratified triumph.

  “I’ll bet he’s hugging himself with glee,” she said.

  They walked slowly through the lit streets where the Spanish and American colonizers had left so deep a mark, but which nevertheless were all Filipino.

  “It’s been a lovely day,” Jonquil yawned. “Thank you very much. It was nice of you to give it up to me instead of going to that laboratory.”

  “Wasn't it?”

  He escorted her into the lift and pressed the button that took them whizzing up to the floor on which her room was situated.

  “Have you got your key?” he asked her.

  She nodded, sliding it into the lock.

  Surely, she thought, he isn’t going to kiss me? Breathlessly she wondered what she would do if he did. He took the key from her and turned it in the lock, pushing the door open. She held her breath, astonished at how much she wanted him to kiss her. And yet, at the same time, she didn’t. It was too soon.

  They both heard the footsteps coming along the corridor and looked up enquiringly at the porter as he came hurrying towards them.

  “There is a note for you, Madame,” he said breathlessly.

  “For me?” She took it from him and tore it open. “Oh, Jason, we won!” she exclaimed. “Look!” She held out to him several notes, each one worth several pesos. “We actually won!”

  His smile was very gentle.

  “So we did!” he said, and gave her a push into her room.

  It wasn’t until much later that she realized that he hadn’t seemed particularly pleased at all!

  Jason had spent the whole flight to Japan deep in a scientific journal. It had looked very dull to Jonquil, but once she had seen the name of Keeving Chemicals and had tried to get a glimpse of what it was about. It was too technical for her to understand, however, and she came to the conclusion that he was reading up about the firm before he met Edward Keeving officially in Tokyo.

  In a way she was glad that he didn’t want to talk. She had too much to think about herself. Never before had she wanted a man to kiss her, and it was difficult to believe, even now, the restless happiness that had been with her all night long. She had no means of knowing whether he had actually been going to embrace her, but the very thought of such a thing disturbed her. She didn’t want to get involved with romance while she was in Japan. She wanted her time to see as much as she could of the country. She wouldn’t have time for anything else—though she had to admit that Jason had seriously shaken that resolution!

  He looked up at that moment and smiled.

  “Not much further now,” he said. “We should be coming down at Hanedin Airport in about half an hour.”

  “Tokyo?”

  He nodded. “You might be able to see the shore if you look out. Yokohama looks very fine from the air.”

  “Is Yokohama Tokyo’s port?” she asked.

  “Not exactly. They used to be different towns, but they’ve pretty well merged together now. They build some fine ships there.”

  Jonquil sat on the edge of her seat and waited for her first glimpse of Japan. When it came it was better than she had imagined possible. The sacred mountain stood high in the background and the land welcomed the aeroplane as it sped towards it. In a few seconds they were touching down on one of the runways of Hanedin Airport, where she set her first foot on Japanese soil.

  Impatiently she waited for the gangway to be brought up, longing to see what sort of a place she had come to.

  “You mustn’t judge by an airport,” Jason warned her. “All airports are pretty much the same the whole world over.”

  “But one gets a feel,” she pleaded. “You see the people, or some of them; there must be some difference.”

  But she had to admit that there wasn’t very much. It was enormous, of course, and efficient as all big airports are, but if it gave an atmosphere of any country it was more of America than of Japan.

  There was quite a long hold-up at the Customs until the senior official could be found, and then there was a sudden spurt of activity that left them almost breathless when they found themselves on the other side of the barrier.

  “How are you going to recognize your employers?” Jason asked her.

  There was a distinct twinkle in his eyes that she distrusted.

  “I’m hoping they will recognize me from my photograph,” he said suspiciously, but he only smiled to himself.

  They waited in the most obvious part of the waiting room they could find, for nothing that Jonquil could say would persuade Jason that she would now be quite all right on her own.

  It was a nervous moment and she wished that she could have looked her best which is hardly possible after a long flight. But immediately she set eyes on Mrs. Buckmaster she knew that she needn’t have worried. She came running into, the room and somehow Jonquil knew who it was without having to be told. She almost waved when she saw her looking round the people gathered there, and sure enough she came over to them.

  “Jason!” she cried out, and flung her arms around his neck. “Is this Miss Kennedy?” The two women shook hands. “I do hope that my brother looked after you well. He can be most awfully vague, but I did ask him to make a special effort!”

  Somehow Jonquil managed to force a smile. “He was very kind,” she said a little stiffly. Too kind, she added to herself. For she very much doubted that she was ever going to get over it.

  CHAPTER III

  Mrs. Buckmaster was very Australian. Lovely to look at and very smartly dressed, she had a tireless energy and a kind heart that naturally included everyone in her immediate vicinity. She smiled now at her brother, giving him a conspiratorial wink.

  “Yoshiko is outside in the car with Harvey,” she told him.

  Jason frowned slightly.

  “Hasn’t that father of hers come back yet?” he asked, and to Jonquil he sounded almost irritable.

  “Another week yet.” His sister looked a little puzzled. “You made the arrangements for his Indian tour, dear.”

  “Yes, I know. Don’t mind me, I always lose my bearings after a long flight!” He smiled, lighting up his whole face with sudden warmth. “It’s good to see you again, honey,” he said, “but we mustn’t keep Miss Kennedy waiting. Where’s the car? And I’ll take the bags out.”

  Mrs. Buckmaster pointed vaguely out of the window and then turned the whole of her attention on to Jonquil.

  “Was it a dreadfully long journey? I hate flyi
ng, don’t you? And having to stop the night at Manila was the end! It’s such a waste of time, but never mind, you’re here now, and very glad to see you we are!”

  Jonquil smiled and said she had rather enjoyed the break in the Philippines.

  “Your brother was awfully kind,” she said. “He gave up some appointment at a laboratory to take me round Manila. We had a wonderful time.” She looked a little wistful, a fact that Jason's sister noticed with interest and with some pleasure.

  “That was nice of him,” Mrs. Buckmaster agreed. “It’s always difficult to dig him out of his test-tubes—we all despaired long ago! But come, and meet my husband. He’s outside in the car.” She led the way out of the waiting room towards the entrance foyer and out into the grounds beyond. Jonquil followed with curiously lagging feet. Now that the actual moment had come for her to see Japan, she wanted to savour her anticipation. To put it off until she was quite ready for it. Round the corner came a party of women all dressed in national dress, and the moment was over. This is Japan! she told herself, and I, Jonquil Kennedy, am really here!

  Outside the air was cool and the grass greener than any she had ever seen. Flowers ran riot wherever they were able to gain a foothold and the colourful costumes of those who were still wearing kimonos added to the beauty. She was almost sorry to have to get into the car to be whipped away so quickly.

  Harvey Buckmaster seemed to understand what she was feeling, for he greeted her abstracted silence with an amused grin and drawled in his heavy Southern accent: “Welcome to the land of flowers and gifts!”

  “And gifts?” she asked, really seeing him for the first time.

  “Sure! The national hobby of the Japanese. They give you a handkerchief or a scarf if you so much as go and pay your bill.”

  “What a lovely idea.” Jonquil retrieved her hand from his enormous fist. “It would make it almost a pleasure to pay them.”

  Another figure crept out of the car and stood beside them.

  “This is Yoshiko,” Mrs. Buckmaster introduced her. “She’s staying with us at the moment.”